George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School

AGEP – Symposium: Antitrust at the Crossroads?


Event Details

  • Date:
  • Venue: George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School
  • Division: The Attorneys General Education Program

Recently, there have been a series of challenges aimed at “reinvigorating” antitrust enforcement agencies and institutions and calling into question the economic approach to antitrust. This latest challenge to the modern antitrust paradigm calls for the rejection of the consumer welfare standard and the incorporation of non-economic considerations, such as fairness, income inequality, and other broader social issues, into standard antitrust analysis. This symposium highlights these current debates in the context of their application in merger policy, common ownership and passive investment, vertical restraints, and the goals of antitrust. Participants discussed the new challenges to the modern consumer welfare oriented antitrust paradigm and suggested any necessary changes moving forward for antitrust enforcement.